haha... I think you're talking this a little too far.
I'm just messin' with ya.
FWIW I think Graves is one of the most dedecated, professional and hard working athletes in the history of (gravity) mtb and a great rider. He's done it all DH, 4X, Enduro and BMX. all at the top level. There aren't many mtb guys who could even qualify for a UCI supercross BMX race.
I don't actually care who torqued his bolts. But I also don't think he should have given up so quickly in colombia but it's his choice and I repect that.
But... Shhhhh.... don't tell anyone.
I'm just messin' with ya.
FWIW I think Graves is one of the most dedecated, professional and hard working athletes in the history of (gravity) mtb and a great rider. He's done it all DH, 4X, Enduro and BMX. all at the top level. There aren't many mtb guys who could even qualify for a UCI supercross BMX race.
I don't actually care who torqued his bolts. But I also don't think he should have given up so quickly in colombia but it's his choice and I repect that.
But... Shhhhh.... don't tell anyone.
Yeah man, I get you. I just think its a bit harsh calling someone mechanical inept when it's clear he just a normal rider who perchance swerved his car and ran over and killed a gypsy witch and her black cat and then skidded under a ladder and into a mirror store detroying all their stock.
PS. I much prefer riders who - like Gwin, at least salvage the day by having fun and throwing some crowd pleasers. But who am I to complain about what people want to do with their race days.
PS. I much prefer riders who - like Gwin, at least salvage the day by having fun and throwing some crowd pleasers. But who am I to complain about what people want to do with their race days.
I watched the Chile and Colombia 20min recap available on youtube last night. I have to admit it's really good stuff. It shows well how Hill is in a class of his own. He is taking inside lines everywhere. It almost looks staged just to make a sick edit (tm)...but it's actual footage from the race.
Pretty cool to witness this. It's history in the making. It's like an hybrid of pure Hill awesomeness from the good DH days mixed with Vouilloz-like calculation. You clearly see he doesn't try hard in the short urban stage where there's no real gain to be made...but does he open it in the long technical stages.
Pretty cool to witness this. It's history in the making. It's like an hybrid of pure Hill awesomeness from the good DH days mixed with Vouilloz-like calculation. You clearly see he doesn't try hard in the short urban stage where there's no real gain to be made...but does he open it in the long technical stages.
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I'll just leave this here. 2nd clip is from Alex Rankin. There's a few pros in the comments.
And Loosedog from Sam's instagram says: "guys oblivious that he just nearly got a straight ozzy rule KO inside fire line shoulder to the back of the head. Couldnt be a better person leading our sport dude youre the fucking man"
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRXmtMlGfDlrNTrjHzIfb0XmSm6iXOpUkQULM0/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhEy9JPF54J/
And Loosedog from Sam's instagram says: "guys oblivious that he just nearly got a straight ozzy rule KO inside fire line shoulder to the back of the head. Couldnt be a better person leading our sport dude youre the fucking man"
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRXmtMlGfDlrNTrjHzIfb0XmSm6iXOpUkQULM0/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhEy9JPF54J/
Well the EWS definitely has a great new role model. Sam doing enduro fulltime is pretty much the best thing that could have happened to them.
Everyone loves seeing him ride on natural terrain.
Anyone else has the feeling that the „one training run per stage“ is actually an advantage for him? I mean he is undoubtedly the king of line choice.
Everyone loves seeing him ride on natural terrain.
Anyone else has the feeling that the „one training run per stage“ is actually an advantage for him? I mean he is undoubtedly the king of line choice.
There's a recent interview of him, I don't remember which publication, where he suggests enduro is more risky because they don't memorize the track and are still going as fast as they can. Regarding the one practice rule, he seems to adapt faster than others. He is the best mountain biker on the planet right now. Schurter will beat him in XC but Sam destroys him in DH and Enduro.
Edit: he says it in in this video at the 10:08 mark.
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Er.. No.Dude, Hill makes even the ol‘like enduro
It's great to see Hill rippin' again tho.
The Craziest part is he beat Marcelo by nearly a minute on his home trails. And the next closest full enduro guy was well over a minute behind Hill. Considering the fact that Gutierrez has the fitness to win the Garbonzo DH every year makes it all the more impressive. Its as if Sam riding at 90% pace is the other guys 110%, which allows him to ride smooth and consistent and still win.
If you look even more closely at the results you'll see Sam put 25 seconds into Marcello (2nd) on just one stage. stage 2 (What looked to be the longest and most difficult stage).
2 seconds into Dailly (2nd) on stage 3. (Marcello was 17secs back in 13th place)
Sam then put 10 more secs into Marcello (2nd) on Stage 4
and then 7 secs into Bryceland (2nd) with Marcello 0.6 back in 3rd on the las stage to matter*
So the longer the stage and worse the conditions/higher consequences of the stage the greater the margin Sam destroyed the nearest contender by. Consistently winning the 4 stages that mattered and increasing his lead throughout.
*The short first and last stages were somewhat pointless pedal fests and seemed to have been put on as a show for the crowd/PR campaign. Plus if you say there were 7 stages it sounds 200% MOAR #ENDURO
Great as it is to see Hill take the utter piss out of every Enduro rider in the world. Hurry up and let the DH WC season begin!
Imagine how fit Sam must be these days. He took 7th at a national xc round on a vitus 29er. Excited for DH season to get underway as well!
Imagine the Giant Enduro team's feelings.... "so guys, this race we're bringing in one of the DH boys to try this enduro stuff. Be nice to him and let him share some pit space...."
Marcelo goes and gets 2nd place in his first EWS.... Sure they're home tracks, but cmon.
Imagine if they ever held an EWS in Perth, Australia.
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DAMMIT SAM
he's definitly rethinking all his life choices
And even a guy as fit as Marcelo was actually shocked how physical it was, telling the interviewers he wasn't fit enough for it...
But yeah, Giant pits must have felt a little embarassed, although Marcelo is a beast, a top ten DHWC rider and the hometown hero.
"It's all our seatangle's fault."
It was also interesting that Marcelo was amazed how capable these bikes are after the urban stage.
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Or at how much faster it is...... [/satanist advocate]
Nowhere near as shocked as the XC bloke in the background who's arse he's kicking.
That pic is too funny!
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I don't know which is worse, chunky monkey selfie dork who thinks TLD shorts make it all legit, or rankin's choice of soundtrack. That dude owns black flag and ministry.
Maybe Rankin's getting old and will be incorporating ABBA and Air Supply in his next film?
She won a race in 2014 with TMO and ACC in the field. She also raced XCO thru 2012, and was podiuming EWS in 2013.
Ah gotcha, so she's quick, but the age/career differences were such that there wasn't a ton of competitive racing between them.
I'd still bet there will be some shuffling involved on the top step if Atherton ever tries her hand at Enduro. It's the natural order of things - DH racers retiring to enduro and teaching everybody how its done.
Rude with the win!